Whiffletree-coupling.



PATENTED MAY 15, 1906.

F. G. DAVIS. WHIFFLETREE COUPLING.

APPLIOATION FILED MAYII, 1905- fl TTF SATES PATENT OFFIO,

FRANCIS G. DAVIS, OF WATERTOl/VN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO H. H.

BABCOOK COMPANY, OF VVATERTOW'N, NEW YORK, A CORPORA- TION OF NEW YORK.

WHlFFLETFlEE-COUPLING- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1906.

To LLZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS G. DAVIS, of Watertown, in the county ofJefferson, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Whiffletree-Couplings, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to certain improvements inwhifl'letre-e-couplings, in which the primary object is to interflt twowearingplates one upon and within the other, so as to produce acomparatively broad dust-proof bearing upon which the whiffletree mayfreely swing or turn without unduly straining the parts and at the sametime to clamp these plates together by a suitable bolt without passingsaid bolt through the whiflletree or allowing it to turn therewith,thereby obviating in a measure the strain upon the clamp- Zing-bolt andassuring a more permanent bear mg.

Other objects and uses relating to the 'speciflc construction of thecoupling will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan of a portion of a cross-bar andwhiffletree coupled together by my improved coupling. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation, partly in section, of the parts seen in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional view taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1. Figs. 4, 5, and 6are perspective views, respectively, of the upper and lowercoupling-plates and the bolt for clamping them in operative position.

A and B represent, respectively, portions of a cross-bar and whiffletreeof a pole or thills which are pivotally coupled together by two circularmetal plates 1 and 2 and a clamping-bolt 3. These plates 1 and 2 are ofsubstantially the same diameter, which is about equal to the transversewidth of the crossbar A and B and are each provided with a centralaperture for receiving the bolt 3, which is passed through a verticalaperture 41 in the bar A and has its upper end provided with a head 5,which enters the recess 6 in the lower face of the whiffletree B.

The coupling-plate 1 is preferably, cupshaped and formed with asubstantially flat bottom resting upon the upper face of the bar A andsecured thereto by suitable fastening means, as screws 7, which arepassed through apertures 8 in the bottom of the plate 1 at oppositesides of its center and serve to firmly secure said plate to the bar A.This plate 1 is also formed with an annular marginal flange 9 and acentral hollow boss 10, which projects some distance above the upperedges of the flange 9 and closely fits within an aperture 11 centrallywithin the upper plate 2, with its end disposed in a plane substantiallycoincident with the upper end of a similar boss 12, which is formedcentrally upon the plate 2. This latter plate 2 is seated upon the upperhorizontal edge of the marginal flange 9 of the plate 1 and has areduced portion depending from its lower side, forming an annularshoulder 13, which projects into and has an easy-turning fit within theupper part of said flange 9, said plate 2 being rigidly secured to thelower face of the whiflletree B by bolts 14, which are passed throughapertures in the whiffletree B and plate 2 and have their lower endsthreaded and projecting into the space within the flange 9 and betweenthe plates 1 and 2, these threaded ends being engaged by suitable nuts15, which are therefore concealed between the plates 1 and 2 and withinthe annular flange 9 at opposite sides of the central boss of the plate1.

The head 5 of the bolt 3 rests upon the top face of the hollow boss 12of the couplingplate 2 and has its threaded shank extending downwardlythrough the hollow boss 10 andaperture 4 in the bar A, which threadedend is engaged by a suitable nut 16, bearing against the lower side ofsaid bar A, thereby clamping the coupling-plates 1 and head 2 inoperative relation one upon the other, and thereby retaining thewhiffletree in operative position upon the cross-bar.

It will be observed that the upper face of the boss 11 terminates in aplane slightly below the upper face of the boss 12 and the plate 2, theobject of which is to allow for a slight take-up to compensate for thewear of the contiguous faces of the plates 1 and 2 and at the same timeto afford additional bearing for the swinging whiflletree B.

It will also be observed that the boss 10 of the lower plate 1 isprovided with a keyway 17, which receives a key 18 on the upper end ofthe bolt 3 directly under the head 5, by which the bolt is locked to thelower plate 1 and is thereby prevented from turning with the whiflletreeB, so that as the whifl'letree turns or swings upon its axisthe upperface of the boss 12 of the plate 2 rides around against the lower faceof the head 5.

In assembling the parts of my invention the lower coupling-plate 1 isflrst secured to the cross-bar A by the screws 7, and the bolt 3 isinserted through the central aperture in the plate 2, with its headresting against the end face of the boss 12, in which position the plate2 is clamped to the lower face of the whiffletree B by means of thebolts 14, so that the boss 12 and head 5 enter the recess 6.

The whiffletree, with the plate 2 and bolt 3 thereon, are then broughtinto operative position upon the lower plate 1, with the shank of thebolt 3 extending through the boss 10 and aperture 4, after which the nut16 is engaged with the lower threaded end of the bolt and lower face ofthe cross-bar A, the whiffletree being thus held in place by a singlenon-rotatable bolt, which simply serves to retain the whiflietree inoperative position against upward displacement, but is relieved entirelyfrom lateral strain or wear by reason of the fact that the whiffletreecoupling plate 2 turns solely upon the lower plate 1 and its centralboss 10 and together with the lower plate forms an intervening pocket orreceptacle for a suitable lubricant, as grease or oil, for lubricatingthe substantially dust-proof joint or bearings between said plates.

Having thus described'my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a whiffletree-coupling, the combination with a cross-bar andwhiffletree, of a cupshape plate secured to the cross-bar and providedwith a central aperture, a plate secured to the lower face of thewhiffletree and rotatingly fitted upon and within the open upper end ofthe cup-shape plate forming therewith an intervening space for thereception of a lubricant, said second plate being provided with acentral aperture and a surrounding boss and a clamping-bolt passedthrough the apertures in said plates and having its upper end providedwith a head engaging the upper face of the boss on the rotatable plateand its lower end secured to the cross-ban 2. In combination with across-bar and whiffletree, a wearing-plate secured to the top face ofthe cross-bar and provided with a marginal annular flange and a centraltubular boss extending above the annular flange, a second wearing-platesecured to the lower face of the whiflletree and having a centralaperture receiving and fitting upon the upper end of said boss, saidsecond plate-bearing upon the marginal flange of the first-named platebolts passing through'the whiflletree and carrying nuts located in thespace between said plates and a clamping-bolt secured to the cross-barand engaged with the second wearing-plate for holding the latter inoperative position upon the first-named plate.

3. In combination with a cross-bar and whiffletree, the crossbar beingprovided with a central aperture, a wearing-plate secured to the topface of the cross-bar and provided with an annular flange and a centralaperture alined with the aperture in the cross-bar, a secondwearing-plate secured to the under side of the whiffletree and bearingupon the top face of said flange and provided with a central aperture, abolt having a bearing-face resting upon the top face of the secondwearing-plate and provided with a threaded shank extending through theapertures in the first-named wearing-plate and cross-bar, and a keycarried by the bolt and engaging a keyway in said wearing-plate forlocking the bolt against rotation.

4. In combination with a cross-bar and whiffletree, the cross-bar beingprovided with a central aperture therethrough, a wearingplate secured tothe top face of the cross-bar and provided with a marginalupwardly-pro-' jecting annular flange and a central projecting bossprojecting upwardly above the upper edge of the flange and provided withan aperture therethrough, a second wearing-plate secured to the underface of the whiffletree and having a portion thereof bearing upon thetop face of the flange and, another portion fltting within the flange,said second plate being provided with a central aperture receiving andfitting upon the boss of the flrstnamed plate and a bolt engaging thetop face of the second plate and passing through the apertures in thefirst-named plate and cross bar and clamped to said cross-arm, and a keycarried by the bolt and engaging a keyway in said wearing-plate forpreventing the rotation of the first-named bolt in the first-namedplate.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of May,1905.

FRANCIS G. DAVIS. 1 IVitnesses:

MABEL O. ALLEN, MINNIE E. CARTIN.

